Looking back on 2019, Haiti’s year can be summarized in three words: protest, pain, and deadlock. What began as a continuation of the PetroCaribe anti-corruption movement evolved into an unprecedented political crisis that paralyzed the country for months and set back economic and social progress by years.
The year’s major events read like a catalogue of crisis: the February arrests of armed Americans in Port-au-Prince; massive street protests demanding President Moïse’s resignation; a national lockdown that lasted weeks and brought the economy to its knees; currency collapse and 20 percent inflation; 2.6 million facing food insecurity; schools shuttered for months; the end of UN peacekeeping after 15 years; and a governance vacuum with no parliament and a president ruling by decree.
Through it all, ordinary Haitians demonstrated the deep reserves of resilience and solidarity that have sustained the nation through its turbulent history. The diaspora stepped up their remittances. Community organizations filled gaps left by a failing state. Protesters risked their safety to demand accountability.
As the year ended, no political solution was in sight. The key questions heading into 2020 were whether international mediation could help unlock a dialogue between Moïse and his opponents, and whether Haiti could find a way to organize long-overdue elections before the accumulated damage became permanent. The stakes could not have been higher for the country and its people.